Source: Theguardian.comBy David SmithElephant deaths in Tanzania have risen dramatically since the government abandoned a shoot-to-kill policy against poachers, officials admit.Lazaro Nyalandu, the deputy minister of natural resources and tourism, said 60 elephants were "butchered" in November and December, compared with two in October.Soldiers, police, game rangers and forestry officers had been involved in a month-long crackdown on poachers, codenamed Operation Terminate, in October. But the operation was suspended after an inquiry by MPs uncovered a litany of arbitrary murder, rape, torture and extortion of innocent people.Mizengo Pinda, the prime minister, told Reuters: "The anti-poaching operation had good intentions, but the reported murders, rapes and brutality are totally unacceptable."The inquiry's findings – including the killing of 13 civilians and arrest of more than 1,000 people – led to the sacking of the tourism minister Khamis Kagasheki, who had called for perpetrators of the illicit ivory trade to be executed "on the spot",as well as the defence minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, the home affairs minister Emmanuel Nchimbi and the livestock development minister David Mathayo.Nyalandu said that, with the operation on hold, the government would appeal to foreign donors to help Tanzania's wildlife department and ranger service. "Those to be approached include the European Union and Asian countries," he was quoted as saying in media reports. "Asian countries are reportedly the main consumers of elephant tusks and byproducts."There is huge demand for elephant tusks in many Asian countries, where they are used to make ornaments. In August 2011, Tanzanian authorities seized more than 1,000 elephant tusks hidden in sacks of dried fish at Zanzibar port and destined for Malaysia.Recent research by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that 22,000 elephants were killed in 2012 and Africa will lose one-fifth of its elephants in the next decade if the poaching crisis is not arrested. There were around 10m African elephants at the start of the 20th century, but that number has fallen to 500,000 owing to poaching and habitat loss. More....

Source: AllAfrica.comBy Pius RugonzibwaThe government will instal special scanners at the ports to facilitate timely detection and confiscation of elephant tusks that are intended for export. Natural Resources and Tourism Deputy Minister Lazaro Nyalandu said that apart from the scanners, it has been decided that from early next year, all staff at the ministry, including forest and game rangers, will receive special training on how to confront poachers. Mr Nyalandu, who made a brief visit at the Selous Game Reserve, said his ministry has already contacted the ministry of transport over the ambitious plan aimed at containing massive killing of jumbos. "We have already communicated with our colleagues at the transport ministry on the plan in which the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) will instal the scanners, as the present ones cannot effectively detect tusks concealed in the containers," he reported. On 'Operation Tokomeza' he said the exercise has forced the ministry to revisit the code of conduct, which governs staff and rangers on how to effectively conduct future operations against poachers. The move towards initiating training on codes of conduct comes in the wake of a report tabled in the Parliament by a probe team that revealed a number of controversies and immoral acts during the implementation of the first phase of the operation. But despite the tabling of the report on 'Operation Tokomeza' by the parliamentary team, sources indicate that it has revealed many issues that needed to be crosschecked. Serious Game Reserve Chief Warden Benson Kibonde said it was important that the second phase of the operation conducts inquiries with the game reserve staff, who have a lot to share on how poaching and sabotage of natural resources can be checked. Astonishingly, he said the parliamentary probe team didn't summon any staff for inquiry on the matter. He admitted the steep decline in the number of elephants in the game reserve due to poaching, with current statistics showing there are now only 13,500 jumbos. More....

Source: Independent.co.ukBy Vidhi DoshiElephant poachers are using firearms left over from Mozambique’s civil war to slaughter elephants in neighbouring Tanzania.The wildest sound on the savannah is not the lion’s roar, but the elephant’s trumpet. When he senses a lurking poacher, the elephant screams, loud and shrill, to alert the herd and scare his enemy.

The poacher, standing only a few feet away takes aim and fires. The elephant screams again, before he collapses in a heap. One bullet will rarely kill an adult elephant, and it takes many minutes before the life drains away.

Military weapons such as AK-47s are increasingly used by poachers. Bullets from these guns weigh too little to penetrate the elephant’s thick skull so an instant death is rare. In the meantime, poachers carve out the elephant’s tusks – never sparing the valuable inches of ivory lodged firmly inside his head. A local poacher will sell a kilogram of ivory for as little as 80,000 Tanzanian shillings or £30.

Max Jenes is patrol manager for the Pams Foundation, a conservation organisation based in Tanzania. He and his team of 200 scouts who guard Tanzania’s southern border with Mozambique have witnessed the growth in weapons coming into the country over the past five years. “Since 2011, we have started to concentrate our efforts on the boundary because most of the firearms being used against wildlife are coming in from Mozambique.

“Almost every patrol we do along the Rovuma river we arrest people with firearms. We usually get nine or 10 firearms in a single patrol.”

The foundation’s most recent report from August 2013 documents the seizure of 473 firearms and 1,138 rounds of ammunition in the previous 12 months. It also found 255 elephant carcasses, 17 other wildlife carcasses and confiscated 118 ivory tusks. The foundation works alongside local communities and the government to prevent poaching and reduce human-elephant conflict in the Selous-Niassa corridor, an area around half the size of the UK.

The ivory, worth thousands of pounds can be carried in on foot, small boats or motorcycles and even on buses. There are also cases of trucks carrying ivory disguised as government vehicles that go unchecked at borders, where the guards are often complicit in the smuggling operations. Last month, an immigration official from Mozambique was caught with 16 tusks.

Ivory is smuggled both ways but mostly from Mozambique into Tanzania. From the southern border, it is transported to the capital, Dar es Salaam, before being taken abroad. More....

Source: AllAfrica.comBy Pius RugonzibwaSixty elephants have been killed in less than two months after the controversial 'Operation Tokomeza' was suspended last month and the government plans to seek international intervention to check poaching in the country. Deputy Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Lazaro Nyalandu revealed to reporters in Dar es Salaam on Sunday that the massive and wanton killing of elephants are reported shortly after the Parliament reacted against the operation. "We have come across new records where 60 elephants have been killed from November 1 to date, compared to the entire 'Operation Tokomeza' period in which only two elephants were killed," he reported. Following the resumption of killings and other acts of sabotage targeting the country's natural resource wealth, Mr Nyalandu announced several measures, including seeking international interventions, which will involve organs such as the International Police, Interpol. According to the deputy minister, other international partners to be approached include the European Union (EU) and some Asian countries where elephant tusks and other resources are suspected to be smuggled to. He said the government was also in the final stages of seeking expertise of some international systems that are recognised countrywide in combating international crimes like drug smuggling. Announcing local strategies in the absence of 'Operation Tokomeza,' which has been temporally halted, Mr Nyalandu said a facebook page has been designed for regular and timely dissemination of information and tip-offs on poaching acted. This will be followed by the establishment of a twitter account for the same purpose in the near future. "We are also dispatching more officers from the headquarters to the game reserves as well as seeking more funds so that more forest rangers and game rangers are employed to reinforce operations," he pointed out. Apart from reinforcing the available workforce, the deputy minister cautioned the staff to abide by regulations and code of conduct governing their operations, including observing human rights to the maximum when dealing with offenders. He mentioned areas recently reported to have been invaded with poachers as the reserve forests of Selous, Rungwa, Burigi, Katavi and Ngorongoro. More....

Source: Ippmedia.comBy Aisia RweyemamuTanzania Tourism Board (TTB) has appealed to the international community to abolish the illegal ivory markets worldwide to ease the war against the extreme scaling up poaching crime.

TTB advised the stakeholders, saying: “To end the problem and save the decreased number of elephants in the world, there is a need for joint efforts” to abolish ivory markets that are generating high demand of the product.

TTB Managing Director Dr Aloyce Nzunki said: “There would be no illegal ivory trade only if the markets were closed worldwide.”

During a public lecture organized at the Institute of Diplomacy in Dar es Salaam recently, Dr Nzunki told participants that Tanzania loses 30 elephants every day as a result of poaching, and a shocking statistics of 10,000 every year.

A study conducted by Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) revealed that the number of elephants in two wildlife sanctuaries in Tanzania indicated a sharp fall by more than 40 per cent in just three years, as poachers increasingly killed the animals for their tusks.

The study conducted in the Selous Game Reserve and Mikumi National Park revealed that elephant numbers had plunged to 38,975 in 2009 from 70,406 in 2006 (TAWIRI 2010),given the estimated total elephant population in Tanzania as between 110,000 and 140,000.

It is feared that such a large drop in numbers over such a short period could lead to wiping out the country’s elephant population within seven years.

According to Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants(MIKE) and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the latest analysis of poaching data estimates that in 2012 some 15,000 elephants were illegally killed at 42 sites across 27 African countries.

“With an estimated 22,000 African elephants illegally killed in 2012, we continue to face a critical situation. Current elephant poaching in Africa remains far too high, and could soon lead to local extinctions if the present killing rates continue.

The situation is particularly acute in Central Africa, where the estimated poaching rate is twice the continental average,” said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General.

“From 2000 through 2013, the number of large-scale ivory movements has steadily grown in terms of the number of such shipments and the quantity of ivory illegally traded. More....

Source: Themalaysianinsider.comTanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete (pic) has sacked four government ministers following accusations of abuses committed by security forces during a huge operation against wildlife poaching. The dismissals, which did not affect the key finance and energy portfolios, come after reports of arbitrary murder, rape, torture and extortion of innocent civilians by members of the anti-poaching crackdown dubbed "Operesheni Tokomeza" ("Operation Destroy"). Kikwete dismissed Defence Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, Home Affairs Minister Emmanuel Nchimbi, Tourism and Natural Resources Minister Khamis Kagasheki and Livestock Development Minister David Mathayo. "The president has agreed to nullify the appointments of all four ministers," Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda announced in parliament late on Friday to applause from lawmakers. "The anti-poaching operation had good intentions, but the reported murders, rapes and brutality are totally unacceptable." The dismissals come after a parliamentary inquiry uncovered the murder of 13 civilians, arrests of over 1,000 people and other abuses by members of the operation, which included soldiers, policemen, game rangers and forestry officers. Kikwete sacked six ministers last year, including holders of the finance and energy portfolios, due to growing public and opposition discontent over graft allegations. Investors have long complained graft is one of the main reasons for the high cost of doing business in Tanzania, which has made big discoveries of natural gas off its southern coast. The president's latest intervention against officials seen to be abusing their positions could further strengthen his hand ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections in 2015. Analysts said Kikwete was expected to announce a wider cabinet reshuffle in the coming days following growing criticism of the performance of other key members of his government, with more ministers likely to lose their jobs. More....

Back in October, I reported on how Tanzania had reluctantly agreed to a proper scientific count of the remaining elephant population in the Selous ecosystem. At the time, one of the conservationists involved in the survey emailed, “Lots of talk about how to manage media once the numbers come out since they’re expected to be so bad.” Now the results are out, and they are dire. Apparently, managing the media means keeping these results as quiet as possible. But here’s a report from National Geographic: In Tanzania, which until recently harbored the continent’s second largest number of savanna elephants (after Botswana), the results of an aerial census of the Selous ecosystem carried out this October have just been announced—at the 9th Scientific Conference of the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), held December 4-6 in Arusha. The Selous ecosystem (31,040 square miles) is Africa’s largest protected area and holds East Africa’s greatest elephant population. In the early 1970s, it was estimated to exceed 100,000 elephants, but by the end of the last great ivory poaching crisis in the late 1980s, the number had fallen to about 20,000. Following the global ivory trade ban enacted in 1989, the population recovered to about 55,000 elephants by 2007—when the current wave of killing escalated. By 2009, Selous elephants were down to about 39,000. The latest, recently announced population estimate is 13,084. This indicates an unprecedented decline of nearly 80 percent over the last six years. We await with trepidation imminent results from East Africa’s second largest population, Ruaha-Rungwa (13,384 square miles), also in southern Tanzania, where large numbers of fresh carcasses are reported from Rungwa Game Reserve and parts of Ruaha National Park. If, somewhere on your bucket list, you are hoping to make a safari in Tanzania, better do it quick. Unless the government there takes dramatic action to stop the poachers, there won’t be anything left to see.

Source: Independent.co.ukBy Jo BarrowThere may be far fewer elephants left in the wild than official figures suggest, according to a new report by National Geographic.The report hit out at current figures, describing them as a “damaging underestimate”, after it was widely reported earlier this month that “one-fifth of Africa’s elephants could be wiped out in the next 10 years, at current poaching levels”, following research by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)However National Geographic has refuted these claims, saying that this estimate “undercuts the seriousness of the current disaster, and the efforts being made to turn the situation around”.In fact, though the IUCN report posited a figure of around 500,000 African elephants left in the wild, but National Geographic suspects that around half that number is closer to the truth.The article, published on Monday, points out criticisms of the source data for the IUCN report, claiming that the figures are based on inadequate levels of monitoring and surveys that are “significantly out of date”.One of the criticised statistics refers to the "Selous Ecosystem", a game reserve in southern Tanzania, where populations of elephants recovered to 55,000 after the global ivory trade ban.However, violence against elephants escalated in 2007, and by 2009 Selous' elephant population was down to 39,000.The most recent population estimate is 13,084, which indicates an unprecedented decline of nearly 80 percent of the last six years.The trend is likely to be replicated in western Tanzania, National Geographic contents, as demographic surveys in 2009-2010 indicated similar poaching pressure as in Selous.In Central Africa, an extensive study estimates a 62 percent decline in forest elephants between 2002 and 2011.The National Geographic report goes on to warn that many elephant populations could be wiped out entirely in the next five years, in locations such as Zakouma, Chad; Yankari, Nigeria; Virunga, DRC; Caprivi, Namibia; Garamba, DRC; Queen Elizabeth, Uganda; and now, Selous-Mikumi, Tanzania.

Source: Newswatch.nationalgeographic.comBy Trevor Jones and Katarzyna NowakEarlier this month, international media ran with a major prediction released by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that “one-fifth of Africa’s elephants could be wiped out in the next ten years, at current poaching levels.” This is a damaging underestimate that undercuts the seriousness of the current disaster, and the efforts being made to turn the situation around. Given the widespread killing of elephants for their tusks over the last five to ten years, and the paucity of accurate and up-to-date surveys of elephant populations across Africa, it is very difficult to make regional estimates of total numbers and projections for the future, let alone for the whole continent. However, let us consider some of the solid information that has been provided recently in peer-reviewed articles and reports by in situ scientists.Severe Declines In Tanzania, which until recently harbored the continent’s second largest number of savanna elephants (after Botswana), the results of an aerial census of the Selous ecosystem carried out this October have just been announced—at the 9th Scientific Conference of the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), held December 4-6 in Arusha. The Selous ecosystem (31,040 square miles) is Africa’s largest protected area and holds East Africa’s greatest elephant population. In the early 1970s, it was estimated to exceed 100,000 elephants, but by the end of the last great ivory poaching crisis in the late 1980s, the number had fallen to about 20,000. Following the global ivory trade ban enacted in 1989, the population recovered to about 55,000 elephants by 2007—when the current wave of killing escalated. By 2009, Selous elephants were down to about 39,000. The latest, recently announced population estimate is 13,084. This indicates an unprecedented decline ofnearly 80 percent over the last six years. More....

Source: AllAfrica.comBy Bilham KimatiThe campaign to control the wanton killing of elephants and rhinos that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism initiated in the recent past but temporarily suspended should resume as soon as possible in order to keep an eye on notorious poachers. A veteran politician and long serving legislator, Dr Chrisant Mzindakaya, told a press conference in Dar es Salaam when commenting on the best ways to ease the pressure exerted on wildlife. He called for immediate action by the government and the international community at large, to restore anti-poaching operations before more animals die at the hands of greedy poachers who kill them for their trophies. "The network of poachers must be investigated. Their secret operations similar to those of illicit drug dealers must be determined. Usually it is the 'small fish' that are usually netted. The actual big-time dealers always evade law enforcement agents. "Wildlife is part of global heritage, therefore, the international community has the obligation to support Tanzania on effective implementation of the agreement on the Convention on International Trade of the Endangered Species (CITES). "This includes monitoring and control in countries of destination," Mzindakaya said. He warned that any further delay in the resumption of nationwide anti-poaching operations will offer time to poachers to continue killing elephants and rhinos. Investigation has shown that at least ten elephants are killed every day. "Selous Game Reserve in south Tanzania, which is credited for the largest number of elephants, is a world heritage. Therefore, it needs closer monitoring of illegal activities. "This place (Selous) should strictly be set aside for photo tourism only. Hunting which brings insignificant profit to the nation, must be stopped," Mzindakaya suggested. He underlined the importance of equipping the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, even after official closure of anti-poaching operations to make sure that poachers do not strike again. The retired politician commended President Jakaya Kikwete for affirmative action against poaching as demonstrated recently during his address to the nation through the National Assembly in Dodoma. More....

Source: Independent.co.ukBy Erick Kabendera In Kiswahili tokomeza means terminate. When the Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete launched Operation Tokomeza, with its shoot-to-kill orders to deal with elephant poachers, he wasn’t mincing his words. In the later part of the twentieth century the same policy had been the key initiative in temporarily stopping the decimation of East Africa’s herds after Kenya was forced to adopt the same extreme measure. Introducing it to Tanzania was one no country could take lightly. But a crisis point had been reached. As the President warned the country’s MPs, the population of elephants had been decimated, now standing at just the 15 per cent of the 350,000 there were some 20 years ago. Even four years ago there were believed to be twice as many elephants as there are today.The country’s porous borders, absence of customs at most exit points, lack of enough scanners at the country’s biggest port and poor ocean patrols have led to the country becoming a poaching hub.“It is very hard for us to know who is involved in the highest level of poaching before ivory is taken to the market because these are people with ivory processing factories and they collect ivory from all over the world,” said Tanzania’s Natural Resources and Tourism Ministry’s Principal Game Officer, Karamaga Canisius. “We don’t have specific names due to lack of a mechanism to trace containers.“For example, a container is loaded in Tanzania with ivory, shipped to South Africa where more ivory is loaded, shipped back to Tanzania on transit and then heads to Dubai and so forth. Most seizures from Africa seem to have come from Tanzania because of how the network operates. But it is clear that most of the consignments are destined for Asia, especially China and Vietnam.”Civil society activists and opposition politicians have complained of slow prosecution of poachers who have been taken to court even when all the evidence has been provided. Rumours abound about powerful businesspeople with high political connections to be the masterminds of ivory trade.Unsurprisingly this is something Karamaga would not comment on. “We have for years hosted refugees from DRC, Rwanda, Somalia and other neighbouring countries who smuggle in weapons which are in return used for poaching,” he stressed. “But the biggest challenge for us in intensifying the anti-poaching campaign is having enough game wardens and weapons to fight poachers.” More....

Source: AllAfrica.comBy Lawi JoelThe fight between the government and elephant poachers appears to be an amusing battle, but one that the culprits appear to be winning hands down to the chagrin of the nation's younger generation. It is a skirmish raging in the country's jungles, across rivers and lakes to the streets of urban centres, mostly in the highways and alleys of the country's commercial centre of Dar es Salaam and right across the Indian Ocean to the capitals of Tanzania's chief international trade partners in the East. Indeed, a war it is that is marked by amazing scenes. Such a spectacle as East African governments and Tanzania in particular are having in their frantic fight against poachers make the fight even more humorous. But the humour does not take away the pain destined to hurt the country for a long time to come. It is a pain that is cutting deep into the very economic jugular vein of the nation while some people in positions of power and who could stop it, sip tea with a half cake in air conditioned offices or a five-star hotel by the seaside. In 2010, Tanzania seized a 90-tonne stockpile of ivory it from poachers in the country. The size of the pile alone shows how determined poachers are and the sure way the tuskers' community is going - extinction. That ivory stockpile was what the government had for the previous over three decades seized from various sources. Somehow, sometime the government had also intervened more illegal ivory. More of the trophy had likewise been handed over to the authorities. In the end, the government found itself with a stockpile of ivory it thought best to sell as the only way to make up for the tourist loss to some extent. Kenya criticized the move as potentially encouraging to poachers, who would consider buyers of that illegal trophy a sure market. Incidentally, the north-eastern neighbour of Tanzania had likewise found itself with such a stockpile but eliminated it otherwise. In the late 1980s, the then Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi torched tens of hundreds of tonnes of ivory tusks, whose value was then estimated at $1 million, in an official gesture of commitment to eradicating elephant poaching. Then again, sometime in July 2011 Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki set on fire nearly five tonnes of ivory worth of $16 million. It was all an effort to drive home the country's determination to exterminate poaching of tuskers. It was quite contrary to what Tanzania would have done. More....

Source: AllAfrica.comBy Rose AthumaniClerics have proposed a mechanism that will enable all stakeholders to work with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism in the effort to end poaching and wanton and massive harvesting of forest resources. They have praised the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Ambassador Khamis Kagasheki, for his relentless effort to combat poaching, urging him to go ahead without let or hindrance. "We know that you are putting your life in danger because of the interests of a few people who are being threatened by the anti-poaching endeavour. We are praying for you, asking God to protect you so that you can continue to protect his creation in the wilderness," Bishop Dr Stephen Munga of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania said. Bishop Munga said the clerics, drawn from various faiths and denominations, have noted with concern the extent at which the wildlife population, especially elephants, is rapidly dwindling and the high rate at which forest resources, such as trees, are being harvested for timber. He said different studies have shown the extent of destruction both of forests resources and wildlife, noting that it is time that every stakeholders works with the ministry to ensure the trend is reserved and both wildlife and forest resources are protected from a few greedy people. The Dar es Salaam Regional Sheikh, Alhad Mussa Salum, said the ministry has done exceptionally well in the war against poaching and plunder of forests. Sheikh Salum agreed that religious leaders have a special role to play in assisting the government in the anti poaching campaign as well as ensuring that forest resources are protected through educating the public in churches and mosques. The Head of Mennonite Church in Tanzania, Bishop Stephen Mang'ana, said Ambassador Kagasheki is among the few leaders in the country who can stand firm in fighting for public interests. More....

Source: Scientificamerican.comBy Traci Watson Times are grim for the king of the beasts. Roughly 35,000 African lions roam the savannahs, down from more than 100,000 half a century ago, thanks to habitat loss, declining numbers of prey animals and killing by humans. One study estimated that fewer than 50 lions (Panthera leo) live in Nigeria and reported no sign of the animal in the Republic of the Congo, Ghana or Côte d’Ivoire. Now a king-sized controversy is brewing over a proposal to shore up lion populations before it is too late. A prominent lion researcher has called for limiting conflict between humans and lions by erecting fences around reserves containing wild lions. The idea has split scientists, with those opposed to the idea arguing that fences could do more harm than good. The ensuing debate has also laid bare fundamental differences of opinion about how to preserve lions and other species, and raised concerns that a key challenge to lion conservation — lack of funds — is being ignored while scientists trade jabs about fences. When he began the research that kicked off the furor, Craig Packer of the University of Minnesota in St Paul, who studies lions at Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, intended to determine only the cost of conserving lions. But something more provocative emerged from his data. In work reported earlier this year in Ecology Letters, he and 57 co-authors calculated lion densities at 42 African reserves and found, Packer says, that the only variables that matter for density are “dollars and fence — nothing else”. He adds that “the fence has a very profound, powerful effect”, because it prevents lions from preying on livestock and people, meaning fewer lions are killed in retaliation. Packer would like to see fences around even some of the largest protected areas such as Tanzania’s 47,000-square-kilometer Selous Game Reserve. But the paper triggered heated discussion, both online and at meetings, leading four months later to the publication of a response signed by 55 researchers. They argue that Packer’s analysis is wrong to use lion population density as its sole yardstick. By that measurement, they say, a dense population of several dozen lions in a small reserve is a success, whereas a large reserve containing 600 lions is a failure. When the authors restricted their study to lion populations whose density did not exceed the land’s capacity to support them and controlled for a reserve’s management budget, they found no relationship between fencing and density. More....

Source: Thecitizen.co.tzBy Lucas LigangaThe recent suspension of the anti-poaching operation code-named Tokomeza appears not to have disheartened the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Ambassador Khamis Kagasheki. He remains in the frontline, leading to volumes of elephant tusks being seized by authorities in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. Under normal circumstances, the minister would have felt frustrated when the anti-poaching operation was suspended after MPs complained about human rights violations in the course of the operation. But the seasoned diplomat probably goes by the saying that pioneers are the ones who get bitten by snakes. Mr Kagasheki is still urging people with information on the smuggling networks to come forward and tell the authorities what they know in order to curb the illegal trade. Poaching in Tanzania has reached alarming proportions. Some 797 tusks were seized in three recent raids, indicating that about 400 elephants were slaughtered for their tusks. On November 7, 2013, President Jakaya Kikwete said poaching of elephants in Tanzania was upsetting and vowed that no stone would be left unturned in the search for poachers. Addressing Parliament in Dodoma, President Kikwete said the suspended Tokomeza (Wipe Out) anti-poaching operation involving the army, the police and other security organs would resume after the hitches were sorted out. He added: “The problem (poaching) is frightening. A lot of ivory has been impounded inside and outside the country. In total, we are talking of about 36 tonnes of tusks, which equals around 15,000 elephants.” At independence in 1961, Tanzania had 350,000 elephants. This plummeted to about 55,000 in 1989. But an anti-poaching operation mounted in the 1980s resulted in the population of elephants rising to more than 100,000. The authorities have asked the Frankfurt Zoological Society to carry out a census to establish the current elephant population. More....

Source: Ippmedia.comBy Sylivester DomasaMinisters of Livestock and Fisheries Development Dr David Mathayo and of Natural Resources and Tourism Ambassador Khamis Kagasheki came under spirited attacks from members of Parliament yesterday over their failure to execute their duties.

While Dr Mathayo was accused of failing to deal with conflicts between farmers and pastoralists, his counterpart Ambassador Kagasheki found himself sitting on a hot seat for mishandling ‘Tokomeza’ Operation that gears to search out poachers and individuals engaging in selling ivory.

The ‘Tokomeza’ operation also geared at removing herds of cattle from the national parks and game reserves.

MPs attacks were directed at the duo after the ministers tabled in the chamber a government statement detailing how the matters were being handled by the two ministries.

Before MPs descended on the two ministers, Ambassador Kagasheki informed the august House that the ministry had decided to suspend ‘Tokomeza’ Operation to evaluate the situation.

However, it was evident that the decision to suspend the operation came after a spate of complaints from the public and even from MPs as to incidents of massacre of cattle, torture of suspects and illegal seizure and auction of property belonging to the suspects.

Minister Kagasheki told the attentive House that the decision to suspend the operation was made to pave the way for assessment and evaluation of the operation which was launched by the government October 4. More....

The Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO) was at the forefront of the 5-kilometer march against poaching last Friday, which took place in Arusha, East Africa’s self-proclaimed safari capital. TATO members and other tourism stakeholders were joined by the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Amb. Khamis Kagesheki, who used the opportunity to speak on the challenges his ministry faced vis-a-vis poaching and the legal mechanism available at this time, pointed out that fines permitted were as low as 30.000 Tanzania Shillings for killing an elephant, the same as if one would kill a goat on the road. Tanzania, like other countries in East Africa, have been struggling to come to terms with commercial scale poaching and in the view of many conservationists failed to amend their wildlife laws in a timely fashion to respond to this threat to their tourism industry.“Like in Kenya we need to improve our laws. Financial fines should no longer be an option but be handed down alongside long prison terms. The fines should also be very high because otherwise the poachers will just laugh and pay. Those caught poaching and all those involved in the illegal trade and shipment of our ivory should go to prison for at least 10 years, and in severe cases twice as long. Let the minister not shed crocodile tears, it is up to him to bring an amendment to parliament and have stricter laws passed. Meanwhile however his field staff needs to be given new terms of reference when coming across poachers. Rules of engagement have to change, these guys carry automatic weapons and rangers should be allowed to shoot to kill before they get shot themselves,” wrote a regular source from Arusha over the weekend, while passing the details of the march and contents of the speeches made. With much of the seized ivory over the past years apparently being shipped from Tanzania, and originating largely from inside Tanzania though there are also quantities of ivory being smuggled through the port of Dar es Salaam from third countries, pressure has increased to pull out all stops to reverse the trend. However, lack of adequate numbers of rangers and lack of equipment and funds to run large scale counter operations have hampered the fight against poaching in particular in areas like the sprawling Selous Game Reserve or the Ruaha National Park, though poaching is now effectively taking place literally anywhere across the country.

Critics of a recent conservation award given in the US to Tanzania President Kikwete, which some described as making the goat the gardener in reference to his time in State House presiding over an unprecedented slaughter of elephants in Tanzania going into the tens of thousands, have been told to shut up by the Director of Communications at State House Dar es Salaam Mr. Salva Rweyemamu, who was clearly stung by the intensity of the criticism so soon and so harshly no sooner than his boss had been given an award termed by conservationists “worth nothing, nothing at all.”

Rweyemamu in fact exposed the government’s true intent, willingly or just by shooting his mouth off as has been suggested, that the highway across the migration routes of the Serengeti will be built by hook or crook, Uranium in the Selous would be mined by hook or crook and the soda ash extraction plant at Lake Natron, too, would be built, even though it would destroy the only breeding place for the entire East African flamingo population. Conservation sources immediately rubbished his assertion though that President Kikwete had vowed to use the army against poaching, with one source writing: “Kikwete promised that last year too and the only thing which happened is that senior army officers were since then implicated in poaching themselves. The rot in his government goes just too deep and too many of his own establishment are up to their hair tips involved in poaching and ivory smuggling. Such retorts are no longer holding water and he and his government are standing exposed as the worst environmental offenders in Tanzania’s entire history. In fact, Mwalimu must be turning in his grave considering his strong commitment to conservation, which has now all but gone down the drain for short-lived profits and alleged bribes.”Other conservation sources pointed to CITES and other international bodies reports which have suggested that the majority of the blood ivory comes from Tanzania and mainly from the Selous and Ruaha where hardly any protection exists in the deep of those reserves and parks, allowing for commercial scale slaughter which opposition figures in parliament have pegged at well over the 30 elephant a day poached given in an official report by government. More....

Finally the worsening poaching crisis has reached the political world. The UN, ADB and Interpol are working at action plans; IUCN is preparing an elephant conference in Botswana; President Barack Obama has promised some assistance and the Clinton Global Initiative has invited African leaders to sign a moratorium on ivory trade in Washington. Prince Charles is likewise organizing a high level meeting of invited Heads of States from Africa to a discussion on wildlife crime. His sons, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, went one step further and created a new global conservation organization, called "United for Wildlife". Footballer David Beckham registered as the first fan and member. It remains to be seen how effective the well-intentioned mix of political heavyweights, glamour and royalty will be at the end of the day in saving elephants and rhino (see Duke of Cambridge and David Beckham join forces to fight illegal wildlife trade - Telegraph).

For the veteran "wildlife's" amongst us this is all remindful of the poaching crisis in the nineteen seventies and eighties. We also remember what did work a quarter of a century ago and what did not. International cooperation in fighting the illegal wildlife trade across the borders is indispensable (see the article "UN Office on Drugs and Crime" on page 21). We all hope that this finally can be achieved. It is well known from where ivory and rhino horn comes and where it ends. Corruption, individual greed for economic gain and bad governance are at the root of the problem. Without success at these fronts nothing will change in the long run. Charity begins at home!

However, one fact must not be forgotten: Without "boots on the ground" the illegal killings will not be terminated. Well-trained, armed and motivated game scouts will have to stop the poaching in the parks, reserves, wild lands and private properties of Africa, where the wildlife roams. More often than not they are not provided the necessary means by their wildlife administrations. In many countries it is the presence and anti-poaching effort of hunters in the wildlife areas, which complement and even sometimes substitute state efforts. More....

The Tanzanian government says it is considering proposals from private American conservationists who are offering to help the country fight endemic rhino and elephant poaching using unmanned aerial vehicles, as the parks authority steps up the recruitment of game rangers to tighten security around game sanctuaries.

Tanzanian ambassador to the United States Liberta Malamula told US online media that the offers of help from unidentified American citizens followed President Barrack Obama's visit to Tanzania on July 1 this year when he promised to help improve anti-poaching operations and discussed the possibility of using unarmed UAVs to help the Tanzania National Parks authority complement overstretched game rangers in patrolling its wildlife sanctuaries.

"I have held talks with drone experts and they have helped clear the negative perception I had about them. I have received the proposals and the talks are ongoing. One area, they said, was the training of more rangers. There were even suggestions that the U.S. government can help us with these drones," Mulamula said.

In his visit to Tanzania, Obama and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete discussed the possibility of using unarmed UAVs to combat rampant elephant and rhino poaching in the Tarangire, Ruaha, Mikumi, Selous, Serengeti and Lake Manyara national parks among others.

If approved, the project would be funded from the US$10 million fund set up by President Obama to help Kenya, South Africa and other regional countries including Tanzania to acquire and deploy high-technology tracking, observation and ground patrol systems to protect endangered rhino and elephant populations in areas hard-hit by poaching. More....

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has said that not all elephant tusks seized abroad originate from Tanzania, although some in deed passed through the country. A ministry's spokesperson said that sometimes the country happened to be used as a transit route by offenders from different parts of the world. "There have been perceptions that all elephant tusks seized abroad are from Tanzania, but the truth is that some just passed through the country," said the Ministry's Acting Head of Communications, Ms Doreen Makaya. She was responding to questions from journalists on the magnitude of elephants poaching and seizure of tusks globally at a news conference in Dar es Salaam. Remarks by the official comes days after the government was advised to amend the Wildlife Conservation Act of 2009 to provide for stern penalties to poachers and traders in elephant tusks in a bid to protect the wild animals from extinction. The population of elephants in Tanzania is declining at a fast pace after improvement following a joint-operation by security forces against poachers codenamed "Operation Uhai " in 1989. "The amendment of the law is necessary to ensure that penalties for killing elephants and trading in ivory serve as deterrent effect," World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Country Director Bell'Aube Houinato proposed. According to the conservationist, elephants make one out of five attractions that tourists visiting national and game parks would want to watch. More....

Environmentalists are calling on President Kikwete to pledge to crack down on the elephant poaching epidemic and rampant illegal ivory trade in Tanzania while he's in the United States for private conservation meetings. His visit comes just two months after President Obama's trip to Dar es Salaam, where he announced an Executive Order to combat global wildlife poaching and trafficking.

Part of the Executive Order involves the creation of a Presidential Task Force to fight international wildlife trafficking to support countries, such as Tanzania, devastated by illicit poaching and trade. Despite intensifying global efforts, President Kikwete consistently fails to tackle the growing poaching crisis that threatens to wipe out the East African nation's elephant population. "The slaughter of Tanzania's elephants is threatening the billion dollar tourism industry and the thousands of jobs underpinned by revenue from United States tourists and others from around the world wishing to witness Tanzania's spectacular wildlife heritage," said Allan Thornton, president of the Environmental Investigation Agency, an international campaigning organization based in Washington, DC and London. "We appeal to President Kikwete to urgently confront this crisis and put an end to the atrocities being inflicted on the nation's majestic elephant herds."It's estimated that 30,000 elephants have been butchered in Tanzania's spectacular Selous Game Reserve between 2006 and 2009. More....

Africa's elephant poaching crisis doesn't just threaten a species, but imperils one of humanity's most important links to the natural world and even our collective sanity, according to acclaimed photographers and film-makers, Cyril Christo and Marie Wilkinson. Authors of the book Walking Thunder - In the Footsteps of the African Elephant, Christo and Wilkinson have been documenting Africa's titans in photos and film for several years. In 2011, the pair released a film Lysander's Song (named after their son an avid fan of elephants) which depicts the millennial-old relationship between humans and elephants.

"The elephant inhabits our imaginations like few species in the history of our kind. We are probably indebted to elephants for having helped us survive droughts because they knew where to find water and when the rains would arrive. They are self-aware and they mourn their dead...they know who they are. They are the spirit of nature!" Christo and Wilkinson told mongabay.com in an interview. "Just as there is a movement among scientists and philosophers to give cetaceans non-human person status, so should the great apes and elephants. It is a question of morality, mind, ecology and spirit because a world without these beings invites a world that is no longer habitable for humans."

Since the late 2000s, poaching of Africa's elephants for their ivory has hit levels not seen for decades. Experts now warn that some 30,000 elephants are being butchered every year for their ivory, much of which is smuggled abroad to East Asia. The crisis, which has coincided with skyrocketing poaching of rhinos as well, has not only decimated populations of the world's largest terrestrial animal, but has also changed elephant behavior, according to the filmmakers.

Response to the poaching crisis has been slow, but is beginning to pick up speed. In July of this year, U.S. President Barack Obama pledged $10 million to help African nations train wildlife rangers and police to mitigate the illegal trade. More....

In recent months there have been increased incidents of wildlife crimes where animals like elephants, giraffes, buffaloes and many others are killed by poachers against the law. Our reporter GERALD KITABU interviewed JAMAL JUMA, a legal Officer at Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team (LEAT) on wildlife crimes and their effect to the nation. Excerpts…

QUESTION: What is wildlife crime? ANSWER: Wildlife crimes can generally be explained as the situation where people buy, sell, harm or disturb wildlife flora and fauna that are protected by the law. In other words, it involves taking, trading, exploiting or possessing of the world’s fauna and flora in contravention of local, national and international laws: These crimes include: smuggling protected species like tortoise shells, ivory and caviar (teeth), illegally trading in endangered species, poisoning of animals, disturbing or killing of wild birds or taking their eggs such as ostrich eggs, poaching of games and fish, cruelty to animals like illegal snaring and violence towards animals and birds.

Q: What is the current situation of wildlife crime? A: Wildlife crimes are increasing from time to time in our country. It is reported that Tanzania loses about 30 elephants to poaching every day and about 10,000 every year. For instance it was reported that a number of elephants has decreased from 74,900 in 2006 to 43,552 in Selous Game Reserve. A live example is the recent arrest of some defense and security forces who were arrested in connection with ivories and giraffe meat.

Another example is the incident that happened few years back of exportation of two zebras to the Arab Emirates via Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) from Serengeti game reserve and the killing of two elephants that were brought to Tanzania from London and South Africa.

These animals were received by President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete at Mwl. Nyerere International Airport, but two days later, they were reported to have been killed. All these incidents indicate that the situation of wildlife crimes in Tanzania is on the increase.

Q: Why do you think this is so? A: There are a number of reasons that facilitate wildlife crimes, first it is rampart corruption. Some of our officials are corrupt; they collude with game wardens and some criminals to easily transfer ivory, tortoise shells and animal teeth among many other wildlife products. More....

Kenya Wildlife Service director William Kiprono and his deputy Patrick Omondi, who are the custodians of the country’s wildlife, have lately been spending sleepless nights. Poaching, especially of elephants, has exploded in the parks and reserves and, as they try to deal with the menace, Kenya and neighbours Uganda and Tanzania have been put on the “Gang of Eight” list by conservationists.

This is the global list of countries at the heart of the unprecedented rise in the killing of African elephants and the illegal ivory trade.The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) has cited eight countries that it says are responsible for the increase in elephant deaths and the thriving illegal ivory trade. The eight are the source countries Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, transit countries Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, and destination countries Thailand and China. “Wherever we go, people are asking us why East Africans are killing the beautiful animal. It is really embarrassing,” said Mr Omondi, who is in charge of wildlife conservation. Concerned about the increased killing of African elephants, Cites has warned the eight countries to stop the trade or face sanctions. They have up to March 2014 to prove that they have taken the necessary measures. The three East African countries are required to submit specific action plans on how they intend to tackle the problem of poaching and the illegal ivory trade. The mandate of Cites, which brings together 178 countries, is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. For a long time now, Cites has been lobbying the eight countries to help curb the illegal ivory trade. More....